Bitcoin jumps after futures trading begins

It's a new era for investors hoping to get in on the bitcoin game.

Cboe Global Markets, a top U.S. owner of financial exchanges, on Sunday began offering bitcoin futures, allowing investors to speculate on whether the digital currency's price will go up or down.

In the first few hours, most were betting that bitcoin, which has experienced a spectacular rally this year, will rise even higher.

It's the first time a government-regulated exchange has given the green light to trading for a bitcoin-backed security.

Chicago-based Cboe tweeted Sunday that its website was receiving "heavy traffic" after trading began. But it also added that all trading systems were "operating normally."

Due to heavy traffic on our website, visitors to https://t.co/jb3O722hoo may find that it is performing slower than usual and may at times be temporarily unavailable. All trading systems are operating normally.

Currently, bitcoins are bought and sold on unregulated virtual exchanges -- and it's been extremely volatile.

Last week, in the run-up to its futures trading debut, bitcoin's value soared on some exchanges from less than $10,000 to $17,000 before dropping back to near the $15,000 mark, spurring renewed warnings of a bubble.

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Stephen Bielecki, an attorney with Kleinberg Kaplan, told CNNMoney this weekend that offering bitcoin futures may help "rationalize" the price.

Futures are contracts that let investors buy or sell something at a specific price in the future.

Offering futures contracts for bitcoin allows investors to speculate on the digital currency's price without actually owning any bitcoin. That's good news for mainstream investors who want to place their bets on bitcoin, but may be nervous about purchasing the actual currency.